1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to helpdesk data sets and more particularly to a method and system for identifying the most useful problem tickets for knowledge authoring from within helpdesk data sets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Support for consumer and commercial products is often provided telephonically. In such situations, an operator (often referred to as a xe2x80x9chelpdeskxe2x80x9d operator) receives a telephone call with a problem. The telephone operator assigns each problem a specific identification code and records the user""s problem (and the help advice provided) in a computerized file. In such a system, if the user calls back, other helpdesk operators can retrieve the computerized file using the specific identification code. This prevents the user from having to wait to speak with a specific helpdesk operator. Additionally, this system provides a helpdesk data set of problems and solutions which other helpdesk operators can access when offering potential solutions to users.
Free form computer helpdesk data sets consist primarily of short text descriptions, composed by the helpdesk operator for the purpose of summarizing what problem a user had and what was done by the helpdesk operator to solve that problem. A typical text document (known as a problem ticket) from this data consists of a series of exchanges between an end user and an expert helpdesk advisor.
For example, one problem ticket may read as follows: xe2x80x9c1836853 User calling in with WORD BASIC error when opening files in word. Had user delete NORMAL.DOT and had the user reenter Word, the user was fine at that point. 00:04:17 ducar May 2:07:05:656Pxe2x80x9d. This problem ticket begins with the unique identification number, which is followed by a brief identification of the user""s problem, the solution offered, the helpdesk operators name or identification symbol, and a date and time stamp.
Problem tickets may include only a single symptom and resolution pair, as in the above example, or the problem tickets may span multiple questions, symptoms, answers, attempted fixes, and resolutions, all pertaining to the same basic issue. Problem tickets are opened when the user makes the first call to the helpdesk and closed when all user problems documented in the first call are finally resolved in some way. Helpdesk operators enter problem tickets directly into the database. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are inconsistent. The style is terse and the vocabulary very specialized. Therefore, the raw contents of the helpdesk data set are not very useful for addressing future problems because so many problem tickets have little or no useful content.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure and method for discovering problem resolutions in a helpdesk data set of problem tickets comprising counting diagnostic phrases in each of the problem tickets, counting corrective actions in each of the problem tickets, counting instructive phrases in each of the problem tickets, counting matching structured fields in each of the problem tickets, and ranking each of the problem tickets based on a total of the diagnostic phrases, corrective actions, instructive phrases, and the matching structured fields for each of the problem tickets.
The diagnostic phrases indicate is one which indicates that the helpdesk operator or the user took some action to gather more information about the cause of the user""s problem. The diagnostic phrases include, xe2x80x9ctried toxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cattempted toxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9clooks likexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ccaused byxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cit workedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cit would notxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cit continues toxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cit stopsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cit did notxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cit diedxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cit is frozenxe2x80x9d. The corrective action comprises at least one verb commonly used in the description of the solution to the user""s problem. The corrective actions include, xe2x80x9cdisabledxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ceditedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cdeletedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cchangedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cbootedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cadjustedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cselectedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cassignedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cmodifiedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cinformedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cestablishedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cattachedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cremovedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cexportedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cassistedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ccheckedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cfoundxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9csuggestedxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cdeterminedxe2x80x9d.
The instructive phrase comprises a phrase commonly used by helpdesk operators when beginning an explanation of a cause of the problem and/or the solution to the problem. The instructive phrases include, xe2x80x9ctold himxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold herxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold clientxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold customerxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold custxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold userxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold the clientxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ctold the userxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad clientxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad userxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad himxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad customerxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad the clientxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad the userxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad the customerxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chad custxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9crecommendedxe2x80x9d. The matching structured fields are indicative of problem resolution usability.
A further embodiment of the invention is a method for discovering problem resolutions in a helpdesk data set of problem tickets comprising mining the problem tickets for words that indicate a problem was resolved, and ranking the problem tickets based on a number of the words that occur within each of the problem tickets.